Almost all vehicles have an area in the passenger compartment designated for transporting cargo or a trunk area designated for transporting cargo. In some vehicle models, such as mini vans or SUVs, it is ideal to have a larger cargo area inside the passenger compartment so that more cargo or large cargo can be transported in the vehicle. However, when a vehicle has a large cargo area, it can be difficult and not ergonomically ideal to place objects in hard to reach areas of the cargo area. For example, in a mini van the portions of the cargo area that are farthest away from the rear hatch can be difficult to reach from outside the vehicle. Thus, if a person wishes to place cargo in the hard to reach area of the cargo area, they have limited options in order to get the cargo in the desired location.
One option is for the person to put the cargo partially in the cargo area and then enter the vehicle to get on the other side of the cargo area. This is not ideal because the person has to change locations in order to get the cargo into the vehicle, and in most models of vehicles, the person would have to stretch over a row of seating in the vehicle. Another option is to stretch across the cargo area from outside the vehicle. This is not ideal because the person must get close to the vehicle and most likely contact the exterior side of the vehicle. This can result in the person getting dirty from the road dirt or other byproducts on the exterior of the vehicle. Additionally, when the cargo to be stored is a heavy object it is not ergonomically ideal to stretch across a large cargo area with heavy cargo, even if the person has the strength to move the cargo in that manner.
Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a load floor for a vehicle in which the floor is repositioned from a stowed position to a deployed position so that a person can place cargo on the portion of the load floor farthest from the opening in the vehicle, without reaching across the entire cargo area. In addition, it would be desirable to integrate the track in which the load floor moves along into the base of the load floor in order to reduce the number of parts needed for operation, and thus making the manufacturing and assembly of the load floor more efficient.